-1.10(-0.09%)

-0.05(-0.36%)

0.0000(-0.0000%)

Here's Why CyberArk Software Is Surging Today

What happened

After strong fourth-quarter and full-year results, shares of CyberArk Software(NASDAQ: CYBR), a cybersecurity company that specializes in managing privileged accounts, rose 15% as of 10:06 a.m. EST on Thursday.

So what

Here are the headline numbers from the fourth quarter:

Revenue increased 36% to $109.1 million. The growth was driven by a 38% increase in licensing revenue and 33% growth in maintenance and professional services sales. This figure soared past the $95.8 million in sales that Wall Street had expected.

Non-GAAP net income more than doubled to $33.4 million, or $0.89 per share. This number also blew past the $0.59 in earnings per share that market watchers were predicting.

Cash balance at quarter's end reached $451 million.

Here's a review of the full-year 2018 results:

Revenue grew 31% to $343.2 million.

Non-GAAP net income went up 83% to $76.5 million, or $2.06 per share.

Money raining down on business man with umbrella

Image source: Getty Images.

Management expects that the company's momentum will carry over into the upcoming quarter and full year 2019:

First-quarter 2019 revenue is expected to land between $91 million and $93 million. This represents growth of 27% to 30% and compares favorably to the $86.6 million that Wall Street was expecting.

First-quarter 2019 non-GAAP EPS is anticipated to be between $0.39 to $0.42. This forecast is also nicely ahead of the $0.36 that Wall Street was expecting.

Full-year 2019 revenue is forecast to be in the range of $411 million to $415 million. This represents growth of 20% to 21% and outpaces the current consensus estimate of $393.4 million.

Full-year 2019 non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $1.94 to $2.00. The midpoint of this range is ahead of the $1.94 that Wall Street was projecting.

Traders cheered the quarterly results and bullish guidance.

Now what

CyberArk has already established a pattern of providing Wall Street with upbeat guidance and then delivering blowout results anyway. That pattern makes it easy to understand why shares are currently trading at an all-time high.

If the company can keep its beat-and-raise streak going in 2019, it wouldn't be hard to believe that investors will continue to be hugely rewarded for hanging on to their shares.